Argus – Boldly Stride the Doomed
Boldly strides Argus, lookout!
Dying Fetus – Infatuation With Malevolence (reissue)
Relapse has remastered the album and it sounds phenomenal compared to the original. The instruments are crystal clear and the drums and bass have more weight to them giving the music more depth.
Timo Tolkki – Saana: Warrior of Light Pt. 1
Metal it ain’t but as far as music and letting your artistic side loose, Timo Tolkki has done a fantastic job with this album. It really is beautiful.
SXSW Day 1 Videos: Kvelertak, Worm Ouroboros, Witch Mountain and Agalloch
Just before heading down to SXSW this year I bought a new Kodak Sport handheld camera to document some of the bands I saw. Here are some videos that I made of bands that I saw on my first day there, Thursday, March 17th
KEN Mode/ Vilipend/ Purity Control/ Black Faxes @ the Garrison, Toronto ON, March 25, 2011
“The vocals for KEN Mode were absolutely terrible, buried under the instruments and rendered completely toneless. The mix was also bad in general, making the tight three-piece sound muddy. If this was anyone’s first experience witnessing the band, I can’t imagine they would have gotten much of an inkling of how passionate and precise they are live. That said, they gave what they had, making due under less than ideal circumstances. The band members maintain an incredible chemistry between each other that’s only stronger now that Thérèse Lanz (Mares of Thrace) has joined the band as their bassist.”
Turisas – Stand Up and Fight
Thematically, Turisas sustain their mostly historical bent with eyes turned toward Byzantium, though any storytelling takes back seat to the triumphant tone and exultant crusade invoked by the music itself.
Red Fang – Murder the Mountains
Back in the day, Sea of Green moved the mountains on their Northern Lights EP, but Red Fang takes things one step further, putting a gun to those mountains’ heads, and making them beg for their lives before pulling the trigger.
Cynthesis-DeEvolution
This album makes for perfect headphone action. A great well rounded production allows each instrument to be heard which enhances the listening enjoyment. You can easily lump this album in the prog/tech section but its so much more than just that. It is almost a prog rock groove laden album with atmosphere and movie soundtrack vibes with killer chops.
Indian – Guiltless
These guys play slow, dirty swamp metal, buried deep under several layers of distortion. Much better suited for the bleakest, darkest days of winter than an early spring release.
Thin Lizzy @ The Sound Academy, Toronto ON, March 30, 2011
“Starting the show off with a seamless segue from set opener “Are You Ready” straight into “Waiting For An Alibi”, it became clear right away that this wasn’t some thrown together slapdash attempt at cashing in on the band’s previous glories. This six piece band is tight as hell and know the material inside out.”
Sean Palmerston reviews the March 30th concert by Thin Lizzy at Toronto’s Sound Academy. Photos by Albert Mansour.